Ok guys im calling upon you again. I have this noise that for the last 2 months has gotten worse. I assumed it was my old hard worn mud tires just being super loud so I finally got around to getting new tires today and noise is still there....Its a loud WHIRRRRRING noise that comes and goes with the speed of the vehicle. I have no vibrations just that loud noise. I have jacked my truck up and checked wheels...they both seem to spin fine with out any major noises.


01 f250 ex cab long bed 4x4 7.3 192k Thanks

 

Are you running stock hubs or aftermarket.

Are they locked in?

The reason I ask is that will eliminate 1 possible point.

squealing and grinding on corners are bearings.

Whirring is a night at the drive inn.



Are you sure it is coming from the front?

If you had aggressive tires before, it could be anywhere in the truck until you isolate the area because you were deaf before.

If your hubs are locked, unlock them and drive.

Turn corners at speed of noise and see what you see.

Could be anything from an air filter clogged to a hanging slide pin on a brake.

Need more info to digest.

Denny

 

In retrospect, the whirring accompanies the throttle position???? That would be a 7.3 turbo doing it's job.

When your hard into it and let off does it go PHEW (that's the noise) and then silence.

You could be listening to the turbo spooling.

Have you ever driven this rig without aggressive tires??


Denny

 

My hubs are not locked in....they lock and unlock freely. I have stock hubs. I have a bad pulse vaccum selinoid so my auto sof doesn't work and I just lock em in when needed.

the noise doesn't come and go with throttle but speed. As I slow down the pitch of the noise slows down. Definately not turbo spool....definately comming from the front....after running up and down the highway my rims are all just barely even warm so no excessive heat transfer. My right front ball joint appears to have a very little play starting to form but I wouldn't think my issue.....I've had street treads when I first bought it and the noise wasn't there...but this is no tire noise

 

The noise picks up at around 15mph and gets louder as I get faster then slower.....I can turn slightly left like to change lanes and it momentarily quits until I'm straight again....I can turn to the right an no effect

 

You said jacked up the wheel spin freely but what if you grab them at 12 and 6 and push and pull that's how you can tell if your bearings going bad. With front jacked just off the ground pull up with one hand at 6 oclock and push in at the 12 oclock position with the other. Should not have any movement

 

So maybe what I am thinking is a little ball joint Slack could possibly be bearing Slack?

 

My bet is on the hub too. Jack 'er up and check as described above.

Also worth checking the carrier bearing. Give the driveshaft a many wiggle and see if it moves around in the carrier.

To clarify, the sound is tied to road speed, not changing with gears, right?

 

I'll check again....I have the infamous clunk that I am sure is carrier bearing but best I can tell it's strictly speed driven.....every now and then it seems like it quiets a little in over drive but I think that's just a certian speed

 

Which clunk? Going over bumps or coming to a stop and starting off?

It helps to have 2 people when checking ball joint slop. Jack till tire is just off the ground and have someone put a crow bar or other long pry bar under tire. While you watch ball joints have them raise and lower the tire. Ball joint movement will be obvious. Then have them do the 12 and 6 thing and watch ball joints. If they feel movement but joints don't move then you confirmed bad hub

 

I found the best way to check the unit bearing's is to actually take the wheel off, remove the calipers, and the rotor to. Now when you spin the axle hub you will not only be able to feel a dry bearing, but you will actually be able to hear it much easier. It is a bit more involved, but you won't have any doubt at this point if your unit bearing is going out, or if it's bad and needs to be replaced. It can be tough to hear the bearing with the wheel on, and the weight of the tire and wheel will push the hub bearing pretty easy, even if its dry.

 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:


Alright guys yesterday I jacked the truck up and checked the side I thought was ball joint slop. I noticed that after two or three times feeling the play it was stiffen up and stop so I took tire/caliper/rotor off and spun the bearing. Actually still felt ok but had a loud metallic sound to it that it did not have when I spun it with the tire on it. So I put a new precision/moog bearing assy. on and that did the trick...probably should have changed the other side but who knows it may last a long time yet. Thanks for everyones input! Much appreciated.


And the "clunk" I have is a start and sometimes stop clunk only....not u joints but in the carrier bearing. I just haven't changed it yet.

 

May not be carrier bearing. If you have a 2 piece drive shaft the slip joint can get dry and you will feel a bump when stopping and starting. needs greasing

 

Very good job, sounds like you got the unit bearing issue licked.
If you suspect the carrier bearing is bad and making the clunking sound your hearing, I wouldn't drive the vehicle at all, until you replace that bearing. A lot of really bad things could happen if the bearing breaks, or locks up on you. When doing a visual inspection on the carrier bearing and or Ujoints, I always start here. Chock the wheels so the vehicle can't move forward or backwards. I now place the truck in neutral, crawl underneath and right at the carrier bearing, move the axle's up and down, back and forth while observing for play in the carrier bearing itself, as well as at the Ujoints. The shroud that surrounds the bearing is made of rubber/rubber webbing and or bushing, so you can observe the webbing flexing very slightly if you look hard which is normal, but you should not see any slop in the bearing to bearing race at all. If you do, then the carrier bearing is bad. If the webbing itself has deteriorated, change it, it's bad. Just because the carrier bearing does pass the visual, doesn't mean it's ok, it could still be dry. Again, if you suspect the Carrier Bearing is bad, I would just change it.
Now as one of the other members pointed out, when the axle spline Yoke is dry, it will give a very slight clunk when you take off. Generally you won't here it when coming to a stop because you've applied the brakes, and the energy of the forward motion of the truck will keep the drive line in a bind up until you stop. When you remove your foot from the brake pedal and push the gas pedal to take off, is when you will here the clunk of the drive shaft taking up the slack in the driveline because the yoke is dry.
So, these are 2 very different situations.
On edit: You could do the same on the other side, remove the wheel, calipers and rotor and check the other side. If the bearing feels and sounds ok, you should be able to repack that unit bearing and be on your way. Save you $200-240 for some BBQ and beer..